Matthew Connatser

Matthew Connatser

@matthewconnatser.net

Opinions are my own. Owner of Silicon Insights, technical writer at Signal65. Previously at Tom's Hardware, Hot Hardware, XDA, NotebookCheck, Digital Trends, and The Register. Personal email: mc@matthewconnatser.net RIP all ICE victims.

852 followers117 following2.2K posts

Today I'm working on a Steam Deck thing and wanted to lookup how I undervolted mine back when Valve added voltage tweaking support in 2023, when I did an article for Hot Hardware about it. I was surprised to see my article was actually written by "HH Staff" and not me! Thanks guys.

I am very confused as to when Hot Hardware decided I never actually wrote anything for them (I have been completely scrubbed from the site) because I'm pretty sure I've gone back to check stuff since I left in 2024. And I don't think they do it to all of their former writers.

I talk to literally 0 family members. Best decision I ever made. Sucks all the ones I'd like to talk to are dead, but I married into a great family so it balanced out.

Michael Hobbes@michaelhobbes.bsky.social

This is a quietly metastasizing moral panic

New poll for the Tennessee gubernatorial election today. That Blackburn hasn't been able to get above 50% outside of head-to-head polling suggests to me Green has a tiny chance: she can win either by getting ~40% of the vote with Hatley splitting the GOP, or she wins over Hatley voters.

Now I know this sounds crazy, but hear me out. In 2018, Blackburn's first Senatorial run, her challenger (incidentally our last Democratic governor and the last Democrat to win statewide) got 44% of the vote to Blackburn's 55%. A 3rd party with 10%+ of the vote would have changed the outcome.

There may be another poll for Tennessee out soon, as my wife was polled yesterday (though it could be a private poll). Hopefully with fewer undecideds, which is crazy to see this late in this red of a state, which I would argue is a little ominous for Blackburn.

So I just received that healthcare "refund" check that Trump sent out to rig the midterms. Very conflicted on what to do. My family could really use the money, but this kinda seems like stealing, and I hate taking money from the man who got my dad killed. Fuck this man.

There is literally no way for Trump and his cronies to stop the tsunami. It's too big to rig. This is the most unpopular administration since... Probably ever.

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social

This is awesome. If your vote didn’t matter Republicans wouldn’t be trying so hard to stop you.

Matthew Connatser reposted

Here's a write up of that TV remote working in Bazzite feature I discovered this week. In short, you'll need Bazzite's 44.20261012 update, CEC support, and an LG TV that has Universal Control or a different TV with something like UC. Read more: www.siliconinsights.org/bazzite-quie...

siliconinsights.orgBazzite quietly added support for TV remotes for supremely lazy HTPC experienceThe year of Linux sees the addition of a weird but useful feature to one of the most popular gaming distros.

So it only works sometimes and I'm gonna figure out why. This shit is way too convenient to not use.

Matthew Connatser@matthewconnatser.net

I just discovered that the random "Xbox 360 controller" my Bazzite PC started to pick up lately is my TV remote. I can control my PC with my TV remote. I'm ascending into the pinnacle of streamlined laziness. This is truly the year of Linux.

I just discovered that the random "Xbox 360 controller" my Bazzite PC started to pick up lately is my TV remote. I can control my PC with my TV remote. I'm ascending into the pinnacle of streamlined laziness. This is truly the year of Linux.

Looks like time is up for the GOP. Unless gas and diesel prices miraculously go back to pre-war levels, I don't see how they stop the blue tsunami. Maybe the polls are wrong but that's very, very wishful thinking.

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social

It was the biggest jump in costs since May. We’re all paying more for everything because of Trump’s pointless war. Trump’s Golden Age? www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...

If companies like character.ai aren't profitable, then it calls into question the sustainability of the entire chain. And it's not even like they got close, these margins are horrifically bad. Consumer usage seems to be a dead end for the industry.

Jason Koebler@jasonkoebler.bsky.social

New: I pulled the Character ai bankruptcy documents. They show: - They were spending $14 million/month on compute alone at a time their revenue was around ~$1 million/month - Currently losing $9 million a month - They admitted they enshittified & that it didnt work www.404media.co/character-ai...

Funny how OpenAI can afford to buy a sponsored segment at the start of each Carrie episode but can't afford to make the whole thing ad free. This is a poor company pretending to be rich.

Matthew Connatser reposted

Finished up a piece about Bazzite's Deck 44 update from last month. My experience has been pretty great, to the point where my list of things I'd like to see fixed or implemented in Bazzite has gotten pretty short. www.siliconinsights.org/bazzite-deck...

siliconinsights.orgBazzite Deck 44 is a great update for a SteamOS-like distroI've finally tried out Bazzite Deck 44, and while its headline features aren't a big deal for me, it's the little details that make Deck 44 great.

Well now CachyOS says I have no touchpad, so RIP I guess.

Matthew Connatser@matthewconnatser.net

This touchpad is 100% cooked which is infuriating because I don't know if I trust MSI to do a repair without botching it or otherwise screwing me over. I also don't want to be completely out of a PC either.

And now it's whittled down to 25%. Iowa is just a point or two away from leaning Democrat, as is Kansas for being a tossup. Still got a whole month left before Election Day.

Matthew Connatser@matthewconnatser.net

Dios mio. 29% to 26 in just a single day. Also, Iowa is 2 or 3 points away from being recategorized as lean Democrat. And Kansas and South Carolina are nearly tossups. And this isn't even all of today's polls!

This touchpad is 100% cooked which is infuriating because I don't know if I trust MSI to do a repair without botching it or otherwise screwing me over. I also don't want to be completely out of a PC either.

Matthew Connatser@matthewconnatser.net

It's acting almost the exact same way if somehow the CPU was too bogged down to actually handle mouse stuff except this touchpad is the only thing that's lagging.

Dios mio. 29% to 26 in just a single day. Also, Iowa is 2 or 3 points away from being recategorized as lean Democrat. And Kansas and South Carolina are nearly tossups. And this isn't even all of today's polls!

Guys what do you do if your touchpad is suddenly possessed by a very ornery demon? Because that's the only explanation I can come up with for this thing being the absolute worst in both Linux and Windows. Used to be a very well behaved trackpad too...

It's acting almost the exact same way if somehow the CPU was too bogged down to actually handle mouse stuff except this touchpad is the only thing that's lagging.

Matthew Connatser reposted

Wow I just discovered it's really easy to edit videos if you're lazy and just have one long clip to cut up and trim. Literally got done in like an hour.

69% now. Nice.

Matthew Connatser@matthewconnatser.net

Texas is now Lean Democrat according to @fiftyplusone.news, for the first time this cycle. There is now only one tossup state: Iowa, which has Democrat Turek at a 55% chance to win. At 60% or more, Iowa goes Lean Democrat. Overall odds in the Senate are still 68% chance for Dems to win.

Texas is now Lean Democrat according to @fiftyplusone.news, for the first time this cycle. There is now only one tossup state: Iowa, which has Democrat Turek at a 55% chance to win. At 60% or more, Iowa goes Lean Democrat. Overall odds in the Senate are still 68% chance for Dems to win.

Model update from @fiftyplusone.news: Democrats have a 68% chance to take the Senate, up from 64% to 65% in recent days. It is now most likely that Democrats flip 2/4 of the battleground states, and flipping all four is likelier than flipping one or none. House at 98% for Dems.

Aaaaand they're broken again. Even when I try to give Windows kudos, it spits in my face. Shame.

Matthew Connatser@matthewconnatser.net

Huh, my speakers finally have adjustable volume in Windows 11. I'm glad it got fixed somehow but I really would have just preferred it work from the getgo instead of taking a random update to resolve.

Matthew Connatser reposted

Hot damn gas at BJ's in Sevierville is now $3.77, it was in the $3.30s just last week, maybe week before last. I wish I could fill up my car with all the surety I had that Trump 2.0 was going to be a disaster for America.

Huh, my speakers finally have adjustable volume in Windows 11. I'm glad it got fixed somehow but I really would have just preferred it work from the getgo instead of taking a random update to resolve.

Matthew Connatser reposted

In less than four days, my CachyOS review has hit a thousand views! Really happy to see SI pick up right where it left off.

Silicon Insights@siliconinsights.org

Well, my month with CachyOS is finally over. The verdict? I'm gonna keep my CachyOS installation, and I'll only be touching Windows 11 if I actually have to. The Windows experience got especially bad after reinstalling it on a new SSD. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqI5...

64% in the Senate. Is it too early to call it?

G Elliott Morris@gelliottmorris.com

We are approaching official Spooky Probability TM territory in the 50+1 House forecast. I guess this is what you get when the generic ballot is at D+7 two months out and the president has a 35% approval rating fiftyplusone.news/forecast/house

96% is quite the number. Oh, and in the Senate Alaska and Texas are drifting closer to lean Democrat territory. Iowa is also split 50/50 now. Everything that could be going wrong for Republicans, is.

G Elliott Morris@gelliottmorris.com

We have updated our House election forecast with the new old congressional district boundaries in Missouri. fpo.news

From 59% to 62% in the span of a few hours. Absolutely insane.

Matthew Connatser@matthewconnatser.net

Okay so today has been wild for Senate polls, especially in the past couple of hours or so, where Democrats were shown to be ahead in every competitive state, tied in Florida, and behind 2 points in South Carolina. The next time FPO runs its Senate model today, it will likely be at 60%.